Chadron State Park- Nebraska

We left the Black Hills of South Dakota for a short drive to Chadron State Park in Chadron, Nebraska.  We can add another state to our camping list!  This park is truly a gem!  It is Nebraska’s first state park and it is gorgeous!

Can you see our fifth wheel over there?  This is a shot from one of the many hiking/biking trails.

Here’s a closer look.  The campground is great!  The sites are plenty big, electric and have shade trees!  In addition to a great site, Chadron has lots of activities to keep you busy.

They have trail rides!  Caleb’s horse was named “Dallas” and he liked to munch on the tall grass along the trail.  The ride was set among the forest but climbed to some overlooks of the Pine Ridge.  It was our family plus the wranglers… our own private ride!  This was a great opportunity since we don’t have our own horses anymore.  And it was Caleb’s first long ride. 

After lunch we were off to the activity center.  They have a snack bar and crafts, but Caleb had his eyes set on the archery range!

Look closely!  That’s 3 for 3 in the yellow centered bullseye!
Next challenge?  Hatchet throwing! 
Wow we’ve had so much fun at this state park.  We’ve been swimming in their pool and played on their playgrounds.  They even have a pond to fish in and paddleboats to ride.  We decided to stay here for 4 nights, but who knows it could be more!

Black Hills- Spearfish Canyon, Air & Space Museum, DC Booth Fish Hatchery

We took a drive through Spearfish Canyon and along the way stopped at the Roughlock Falls.The area is beautiful- lush and green!
We followed that with a trip on Sunday to the South Dakota Air & Space Museum…with Chris as our “tour” guide.
This was one of Caleb’s favorites.

Can you see Chris & Caleb by the sign?  That plane was massive!
Later in the afternoon we ventured into Spearfish to the historic DC Booth Fish Hatchery.  This was the first hatchery in the country!
Caleb posed with this ancient ranger.
There were trout of all sizes and an underwater viewing area with the “Big Ones”.
 Tomorrow we head to Chadron State Park in Nebraska for Caleb’s 10th Birthday!!
 

South Dakota- from Cabela's to the Corn Palace!

We left the Red River SRA of East Grand Forks, Minnesota and hit the interstate. Destination? Cabela's of course- Mitchell, South Dakota. It was in the mid 80's when we pulled into their RV lot, so the windows opened up and we went inside to shop! With a thumbs up to stay in their RV lot for the night we headed back to the rig for some dinner. Hmmm...it's still pretty warm...their's a Culver's custard shop in sight...so the brave adventurer's Chris and Caleb headed out to secure us a frosty treat for dessert!

While in Mitchell we had to stop at the famous Corn Palace! So on our way out of town in the morning we turned this way and that to meander to the famous site. Transportation seems to be the theme this year with an airplane, segway, ship, bicycle and motorcycle. No RV?

It was smaller than we had imagined, but it was a good stop and see. Workers were putting finishing touches on the arrangement on the lower right of the picture above.

Then back to the interstate. Destination? The Black Hills of course! We have stopped in this area every summer with the 5er and have always found enjoyment. So where are we? Right now we're in Sturgis. The famous motorcycle rally doesn't start until the first week of August so we are not among the bikes. We plan to explore (read more pictures) the northern Black Hills...Spearfish Canyon, the South Dakota Air & Space Museum, perhaps Reptile Gardens, and guess what? There's a Cabela's here too! Caleb says if you rearrange the letters, it spells his name, so he has dubbed it "his" store :-)